Preliminary isozyme analyses support D. B. Lellinger's (1985) suggestion that Cheilanthes intertexta is a fertile allotetraploid hybrid between C . gracillima and C . covillei . It is morphologically most similar to the latter parent (see comments under C . covillei ), but it is occasionally confused with C . gracillima , with which it apparently hybridizes to form sterile intermediates that have been called C . gracillima var. aberrans M. E. Jones. Cheilanthes intertexta may also be confused with C . clevelandii , with which it is partially sympatric. In addition to the characters given in the key, C . intertexta is distinguished from closely related sexual species by having larger spores averaging more than 55 µm in diameter.